Results: Reported a loss of $199.5 million ($1.97 per diluted share) in the quarter. The asset management company had net income of $42.9 million or 42 cents per share in the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Fell 19.7% to $625 million from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. reported adjusted net income of 7 cents per share. By that measure, the company fell short of mean estimate of 21 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $650.4 million.

Quoting Management: “The fourth quarter proved to be a difficult finish to a challenging 2011 for our firm,” said Peter S. Kraus, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The year was characterized by global market volatility, which caused risk aversion on the part of equity investors. While markets partially rebounded from prior lows in the fourth quarter, trading activity declined sharply. With ongoing investment underperformance in our largest equity services, we experienced further client redemptions, and ended 2011 with lower assets and a decline in revenues.”

Key Stats:

The company’s loss in the latest quarter follows profits in the previous three quarters. The company reported a profit of $27 million in the third quarter, a profit of $35.5 million in the second quarter and $43.7 million in the first.

The company fell short of estimates last quarter after beating the mark the quarter before with net income of 30 cents versus a mean estimate of net income of 27 cents per share.

Looking Forward: Expectations for the company’s next quarter performance are more favorable than they were a month ago. The average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year is now at 25 cents per share, up from 25 cents. The average estimate for the fiscal year is now $1.24 per share, down from $1.30 sixty days ago.